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Repeal and Replace Obamacare Dead for Now with Susan Collins No

Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ announcement that she will not vote for her party’s last-ditch attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare effectively dooms Republican hopes of abolishing a law they spent eight years campaigning against.

The first “no” came from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who said he had promised his voters full repeal of Obamacare and this wasn’t that. (Paul, of course, had found a way to vote for skinny repeal back in July.)
The second “no” came from Arizona Sen. John McCain, whose famous/infamous thumbs-down “no” vote in late July had doomed skinny repeal by the narrowest of margins. McCain’s issue then was the same as his issue now: The legislation did not move through the Senate in “regular order” — meaning that it didn’t go through a series of committee hearings, a mark-up where the legislation was edited and improved and then floor votes in which amendments to the bill — offered by Republicans and Democrats — could be considered.
Then, on Monday night, came Collins’ “no.” Her issues, then as now, were the potential cuts to Medicaid and the lack of guarantees that people with pre-existing conditions would be covered — and covered at an affordable rate.